Crop diseases and pests

Publication date: July 18, 2022

The seedcorn maggot, Delia platura (Meigen), is an occasional pest of agronomic crops in Missouri. This insect is widely distributed throughout the temperature zones of the world. It was discovered in the United States in 1855. This insect feeds on ...

Publication date: July 18, 2022

The European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) was first observed in the United States near Boston in 1917, and by the 1940s it had migrated into Missouri.Description and life cycleThis insect overwinters as full-grown, fifth-instar larvae ...

Publication date: July 18, 2022

The black cutworm, Agrotis ipsilon (Rottemburg), is a globally distributed species. Within the different regions of its home range it may have other common names: floodplain cutworm, greasy cutworm and overflow worm. Black cutworms have numerous ...

Publication date: July 18, 2022

The corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), is a generalist feeder with at least 16 cultivated and numerous (more than 100) wild host plants. Other names given to this pest include cotton bollworm, soybean podworm, tomato fruitworm and vetchworm. ...

Publication date: July 18, 2022

The Diatraea grandiosella Dyar, is a pest of corn, Zea mays (Linné).Description and life cycleThis insect overwinters as a full-grown larva at the base of the corn stalk. The dull white moths with their prominent, snoutlike mouthparts (Figure 1, ...

Publication date: July 18, 2022

In Missouri, blister beetles are an infrequent pest of alfalfa. When present in sufficient numbers, however, the consequences can be serious. These insects cause only limited plant damage to alfalfa and soybeans.But when ingested by livestock, ...